Here is what you need to know on this Thursday, June 5, 12 days before the start of minicamp.

Nickel coverage

Here are five quotes and notes from Jay Gruden following the Redskins’ OTA session on Wednesday.

—Some think that Kory Lichtensteiger could get pushed out at center at some point but Gruden appears to be a big fan: “Kory’s done a great job at center. He’s coming, it’s a natural transition for him. He’s great in the run game, he gets up to the second level with ease and in the pass protection with the calls that he’s making already, he’s done a great job already. We’re excited about what he brings to the table, both in the run game and in the pass game.”

—For the second week in a row, Gruden indicated that you’d be a fool to bet against Keenan Robinson starting at inside linebacker Week 1 in Houston. “He’s a lot further ahead than we anticipated, stamina-wise, mentally. He’s doing a great job, obviously, but the linebacker position is hard to judge in shorts. But it is exciting to see him run around, he’s a very fluid athlete. Like I said last week, I think he’s active in the passing game and his run fits have been outstanding.”

—At some point Morgan Moses might be the starting right tackle but he’s going to have to learn how to play both sides first: “He needs to know both tackle spots. Right now, we have him at the right. He’s obviously more comfortable on the left side right now because that’s what he’s been doing the last few years in college. You can see the right side he struggled a little bit and then went back to the left side, he was a lot more natural. But he’s going to have to learn both and that’s what rookie tackles have to do.”

—Moses isn’t the only O-lineman who will have to learn multiple positions: “You have to have guys able to play left tackle, right tackle, center, right guard, left guard and that’s why we kind of brought the people in that we brought in. It’s very important for each position to not just know one spot, but to be able to move around because throughout the season you see injuries happen and the guys have to fill in at spots they’re not used to playing.”

—Like every coach, Gruden would like to see his defense get pressure without having to throw the kitchen sink at the QB: “I think the big thing is if you get pressure with four guys, you have a much better chance. You saw the success Seattle had – they had a very seldom blitz. They just got pressure with their four guys. They were able to mix their coverages up, play good sound defense. That starts right there. We have the ability, I feel like – with four, five guys that we have being able to rush the passer, keeping them fresh – that we can get pressure.”

No particular significance personally. When I started this daily post I figured that five items was enough to give the readers enough substance in the morning to make them look forward to it without being so long that they need a second cup of coffee to get through it.

Some 4.4 million page views later, I figure it’s a winning formula so why not stick with it.

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mauriceatwood - Jun 5, 2014 at 9:57 AM

WOW Rich, if you have 4.4 million views that truly is a REAL REDSKINS DEAL. Congratulations. Keep up the good work. I am a newbie to your site (been reading about 2 months or so), but I absolutely love it. Thanks for what you do.

You found the best redskins site here. Rich has his finger on the pulse of the team, tells it like it is, and doesn’t let any butt-heads come in here and ruin it.

renhoekk2 - Jun 5, 2014 at 10:27 AM

Hopefully Jenkins and Murphy can add something to the pass rush. I keep hearing Jenkins has to play special teams and I agree a reserve LB should be able to contribute something on special teams.

Rich,

Do you have any sense or feeling on the Jenkins situation? With pass rush such an important part of what teams try to do now, do you give up on a 2nd year guy because he’s not a great special teams guy? Supposedly he only fell in the draft last year because of the injury and everyone said he had ability.

ET - Jun 5, 2014 at 2:05 PM

I’m excited for Keenan! I hope he has a healthy and productive year. After so many setbacks, he (seemingly) deserves a shot at the starting spot next to Riley.

So 4 of the 5 items listed concern the Offense (3 for the O-Line and RG3’s level of play). Sounds like coach Gruden may feel that he can / has impacted that side of the ball quicker (which makes since to me due to his back round). I really want to see how Kory L does at C, IMO he was a Shanahan fav and keep his job when maybe other coach’s would have tried someone else at some point in 2013. IMO if coach Gruden thinks he has already fixed the O-line concerns he is mistaken. I think there will be two more major changes to the O-line starters before training camp ends. As for RG3, I do not know what to think. Was it drama, O-Line problems, poor WR play, Specials teams, playing from behind, the injury or fill in your own reason here for his fall off in 2013. It does sound like Keenan Robinson is coach Gruden pick for ILB, but I want to see how the preseason plays out as I am still not sold on him. Beside, IMO the DB play and pass rush will play as large of a roll in a 2014 turn around as anything listed other than RG3’s development. I wonder if coach Gruden is not yet impressed with the progress of the DB’s and pass rush to include them in his report, or if Rich limited the story to only 5 areas! Let’s hope the new coach can move the ball in all areas requiring improvement.

Rich Tandler - Jun 5, 2014 at 9:18 PM

Need to Know is always five areas. I might vary that in the future but for now I pick what I think are the five most interesting points and go with them.

Also note that Gruden is not coming up with the topics; he’s answering our questions.

I will go back to posting the complete transcripts as separate posts here so those interested can get a more complete picture.